Tears Run Gold
by fuzzy1713
Summary: Someone is hunting the last two Celestial Mages, Yukino and Lucy, unbeknownst to them and their guilds. When the girls are taken, what will their beloved Dragon Slayers do to get them back? And what do their mysterious and dark captors want from them to begin with? Will Sting and Natsu make it in time to save the girls from their horrible fate?
1. Chapter One: Schemes Set

Heart pounding and muscles screaming, Yukino skidded around a rock and ducked into the shadows; scraping her knees against the stoney ground. She was supposed to have returned to the guild days ago, surely someone would be looking for her by now. Sting must have noticed her prolonged absence. He'd promised to watch out for her when she agreed to return to Sabertooth, but maybe those had been just words. After all he hadn't been paying much attention to her, at least not more than he did anyone else in the guild.

The sound of approaching footsteps jerked Yukino from her thoughts of her blonde Dragon Sayer. She couldn't afford to focus on the confusing thing developing between her and her guild master. She needed to focus on finding an escape from whoever was pursuing her.

She'd finished her assigned mission easily enough, a day early even. She'd been so proud and excited to return to the guild and announce her success, but then…then she'd changed her mind. It was strange. Yukino couldn't remember exactly why she'd suddenly decided, after receiving the payment for defeating the monster, to stay an extra night in a small inn at the edge of a massive forested mountain near where she'd defeated the creature.

The inn had been beautiful; walls sculpted with little pictures and stories, every surface gleaming and sparkling. When she'd stumbled onto the inn, Yukino had thought she'd found a hidden gem. A place she could share with her friends. Everything about it had been inviting,comforting, and safe. The people had been kind, the food had been heavenly and the bed had been like a cloud. She should have known it was too good to be true.

Nothing ever worked out right for her after all.

While she had slept, the illusion of the inn had vanished and instead of awaking to soft sheets and a warm meal, she had awoken alone and in the middle of a forest. She'd barely had time to register what had happened before the beasts had attacked.

Instantly, Yukino had been forced to fight for her life against a pack of wolves, the size of bears, with eyes that glowed like coals and bodies that seemed to vanish in the moonlight. Hellhounds, she'd determined by the third time they'd attacked her. No one Yukino knew had ever seen them, but there'd been whispers of them in the scary stories of her childhood. Hearing about them had been terrifying, but fighting them had been far worse.

After killing the last one, Yukino had a moment of breath before something else began to chase her. She'd sensed whoever it was when she was fighting, but had been unable to waste any energy or attention to it. Sting had taught her that. If it's not an immediate threat don't waste time on it.

Now she knew, she shouldn't have ignored them. The instant the wolves had disappeared, Yukino's magic disappeared as well. Then a cloaked figure had stepped forward and she'd been forced to run, too exhausted to even consider fighting the powerful, dark mage.

The only thing she had yet to figure out was why. Why someone would go through so much trouble just to get to her? The few glimpses she had risked behind her while running had revealed nothing but a figure in a dark cloak and a face shrouded in darkness; so she had no idea what her pursuer looked like either. She doubted it would help even if she did. She didn't know enough about the rogue mages and guilds to identify the person, let alone figure out what they wanted from her.

Hearing the steady footsteps that had been following her ceaselessly, begin to approach her hiding place, Yukino's mind began to race once more; and a cold realization struck her. There was no way she was going to escape whoever was following her. She'd been trying to for days; getting sleep and rest whenever she was far enough away. But she never really was far enough. The person never seemed to rest; never seemed to do anything but walk, at the same steady pace, after her. As if they knew eventually she would fall into their trap. Yukino had struggled to escape for so long, but every time her magic came back the hellhounds would too. She was well past the point of exhaustion; it was wonder she hadn't fainted already.

What she needed was a way to let whoever came looking for know she was in trouble and where to start searching. But that was easier said then done. She was miles from wherever she'd started and much higher up then she dared to admit to herself. There wasn't a way for her to leave a written message and her time to come up with a solution was running out.

Desperately, her eyes scanned the ground around her for something, anything. Finding nothing, aside from leaves and twigs, Yukino's eyes turned to the rock temporarily hiding her. It was sharp; jagged bits running and jutting out everywhere.

Before Yukino could second guess what she was about to do, she jerked out her left hand and slashed it cruelly against the rock; biting back a hiss of pain as bright red splashed across the pale brown surface. Her scent would linger there for days now, Sting or Rogue would be able to smell it and know she was in danger. They'd come save her now.

Steeling her nerves one last time, Yukino dashed out away from the wall. Racing in another direction, praying they'd follow her immediately instead of wasting time to examine the rock. Risking a glance backward, she saw her prayers had been answered. They were closer than ever before, but any interest in the rock had vanished the moment she reappeared from behind it. Maybe, just maybe her desperate plan would work and her Sting would save her.

That was the last thing Yukino thought as she turned forward again only to find she run out of ground and was tumbling through the open air.

* * *

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in frustration as she jumped once more in an attempt to reach the object her teammate held teasingly just out of reach. "Give it back." She pouted, stomping her foot when she again failed to reach her book and instead found herself barely even reaching his elbow.

Natsu grinned as Lucy's body fell against his; the dragon slayer's eyes alight with impish delight. Despite herself, Lucy blushed. She was finding herself doing that a lot around Natsu lately. Especially whenever they happened to touch; a jolt of electricity would shoot through her body and heat would immediately rise to her cheeks. Normally she would take a few steps back, but now was not the time to focus on the growing tension between her and her best friend. No Lucy was determined to get back her book before Natsu damaged it or, Mavis forbid, read it.

Even the thought of Natsu reading what she had written sent a shiver of dread down the Celestial Spirt Mage's spine. There was no way she could ever let that happen. Steeling herself she launched one final attack on the Dragon Slayer, slamming into him and knocking them both to the ground. Before Natsu could recover fully, Lucy scrambled forward and secured her book; wrapping her arms securely around it, while straddling his stomach.

"Jeez Lushi," Natsu grumbled as he looked up at her. "That hurt."

"Idiot! You stole my book!" She cried, her brown eyes flashing dangerously.

Natsu brought his elbows up behind him, causing Lucy to slide backward into his lap. "I borrowed it weirdo." The two teammates stared each other down for a few seconds before Natsu caved. "You never let me read any of it." He muttered.

Confused, Lucy relaxed her hold on the book slightly, wondering why that even mattered to Natsu. It wasn't like he liked to read stories and he knew how she felt about people reading what she had written. It was private. As it stood currently, only Levy was trusted enough to read any of it and that was only because the blue-haired girl had begged and pleaded until Lucy caved, simply because she'd wanted to get the Solid-Script Mage off her back for a bit. It turned out to be a good decision, given how helpful Levy was with editing and critiquing Lucy's story. Not to mention, it had brought the two together, something both girls were eternally grateful for.

"Why does that matter?"

Natsu, if possible, pouted even more. "Because we're teammates."

"So?" Lucy pressed, tilting her head as she struggled to understand.

"So, you know everything about Happy and I, don't cha?" Furrowing her eyebrows, Lucy considered the question seriously.

Of course Lucy knew that Natsu statement was not entirely correct. There were things that she and the rest of the guild didn't know or understand about the Fire Dragon Slayer, but that could be said about either of the other two Slayers as well. Natsu didn't even know the answers to the questions burning in everyone's mind. But aside from the things that no one knew, she really did know a lot about him. She knew how much he liked to sneak into her room and cuddle with her when he thought she was fast asleep; she knew how protective he was of all of his nakama, no matter how old or new they were to the guild; she knew his favorite food, drink, clothes, table, and even his preferred fishing spot (a trip she would never be repeating); she knew him at his weakest and his strongest. Lucy Heartfilia even knew where the Fire Dragon Slayer used to sleep before she arrived in the guild; hell she'd even cleaned the place for him and Happy on the rare occasions she'd visited their little cabin. All of that considered, Lucy could honestly say that she probably did know all of Natsu's secrets and it warmed her heart to know that he'd trusted her above anyone else in the guild.

"I guess I do Natsu, but what does that have to do with my book?" Natsu raised his deep grey eyes to meet Lucy's brown ones and she was surprised to see a slightly hurt expression dancing in them.

"Why can't I know all of yours then?" Taken aback, Lucy dropped her hands and the book so that it lay unprotected in her lap. Surprisingly, Natsu didn't make a dive for the book and instead waited for her response.

"Natsu, you do know all of mine. Everything I've tried to hide, to bury away…you've ripped out of me." He grimaced at her words, and she realized how they sounded. "Not in a bad way. It hurt at first, but it's left me better. Stronger even." As if to demonstrate, Lucy lifted her right arm and flexed her muscles for Natsu who laughed and showed off his own to which she only rolled her eyes. "I can't even begin to explain how much you've helped me Natsu. You're the first—and best—friend I've ever had."

Eyes dancing with laughter, Natsu smiled and nodded towards the book still in her lap. "I don't know that though Luce." Glancing down, the blonde bit her lip. That was true, Natsu didn't know what lay between the carefully hand-written pages, but he couldn't ever read it. He'd know then. He'd know that his smile released a million butterflies into her stomach; that every time he took her hand in his, a shiver would travel from their intertwined fingers throughout her entire body; that walking up beside him every morning, made her feel more content than she ever had before. He'd know all of those things, and so much more. Everything would be out in the open between them and nothing could ever be the same again. Lucy couldn't let that happen. She would never risk losing the bond she and the pink haired Dragon Slayer had. The blonde knew she could ignore the feeling erupting inside of her, so long as Natsu continued to look at her with that same innocent smirk.

"Natsu…" Lucy tried, searching for the words to explain why he couldn't read it. Words that he would understand but not be suspicious of. "It's not finished."

"Why does that matter? Levy reads it already."

"She's…she's proofreading it for me though."

"Proofreading?" He questioned, his face distorted in confusion.

"Ya, she's reading over what I've written and letting me know how it is and what I need to improve on."

Natsu nodded slowly, "like a trainer?" Lucy rolled her eyes, but nodded. Leave it to Natsu to relate everything back to fighting. "Then let me proofread it too!" He exclaimed suddenly making a mad grab for the book.

Before he could however, Lucy had ripped it out of her lap and behind her back, out of his reach; at least for the time being. "No!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut to block out any hurt expression he might have. "You can't! I want…I want to save it until it's finished. Then everyone can read it."

Opening one eye when no response came, Lucy's heart sank when she realized the entire guild had grown silent and was watching the two of them. Which meant everyone had heard what she had just said. Which meant that everyone would expect to read her story now. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"Alright." Natsu drawled, his tone already indifferent. "I get to read it first then, got it?" The look he shot her made Lucy remember he was anything but indifferent and she nodded before she could think to argue anymore.

"Oi, Flamebrain! Who says you get to read it first?"

Jumping up at the challenge, Natsu met Gray head on—literally—and yelled right back, "I do Pervert! You got a problem with that?!"

Gray jabbed a finger at his bare chest, "Lucy's my teammate too! I want to read whatever she's written more than you do! Besides you probably can't even read, moron!" He'd barely finished his sentence before Natsu's flaming fist slammed into the side of his face and a brawl between the two escalated from there.

Meanwhile, Lucy had taken refuge at the bar, away from the dueling mages and any rouge chairs that might be flying around the guild.

"You're not really going to let Natsu read that, are you?" Levy whispered, appearing beside the blonde mage.

Shooting a wary glance behind her, to be sure he was still distracted, Lucy shook her head. "No one other than you will."

"Why's that Lucy?" Just as suddenly as Levy had appeared, so did Mira, her eyes alight with curiosity.

Sighing, Lucy bowed her head in defeat. There was no way she could escape this one. Natsu was easy to distract and defuse. He was a dense idiot most of the time. Mira on the other hand was anything but.

"Oh because Lu-chan sometimes writes more into the story than she intends." Levy answered for her, a smirk on the small mage's face, while Lucy groaned inwardly.

"What does that mean?" Mira asked sweetly, but the Celestial Mage knew better than to buy into the tiny smile the white haired woman was giving her. One glance into her bright blue eyes, would reveal a gossiping and love-obsessed Mira ready to pounce.

"It means that writing helps me…think through things. Sometimes those things work their way into the story."

"What things?" Mira pressed, bending her body down, over the counter, so her deep blue eyes met Lucy's brown ones.

Huffing air upward into her bangs, Lucy sat up and rested her cheek heavily on her palm. "It means that…" She searched for the right wording to get Mira off her back. Lucy would have loved to tell the Take-over Mage the truth, but she knew better. If Mira knew her feelings for Natsu, then she would meddle and, well her heart was in the right place, Mira and meddling was bad. Dangerous even. "It means that all the painful things I've gone through here…they're written in there. And it would hurt Natsu to read it." Understanding danced in the white haired mages eyes, and she nodded.

"Oh Lucy…" Mira reached out and grasped her hand. "You're such a good friend!" She squeezed the blonde's hand once before flashing the two girls a final smile and sweeping off to the other side of the bar where Cana needed another barrel of alcohol.

"Well that was…" Lucy began, unsure what to say.

"Surprisingly easy." Levy finished for her. "You don't really think…"

"Not at all." Lucy answered, eyes trailing after the white-haired beauty. "There's no way Mira would ever fall for that. Which means…"

"She probably already knows. But why hasn't she said anything?"

"Why indeed?" Lucy murmured, an uneasy feeling taking refuge in her stomach. Mira, love master of Fairy Tail, hadn't attempted to set her up with anyone for weeks. Months even, now that she thought about it. There was no way she didn't know. The only reason she relented when it came to couples was when she was scheming. The thought sent a shiver down Lucy's spine. Meddling was bad, but scheming…scheming was far far worse.

"You don't think?" Levy whispered, horror evident in her voice.

"I do." Lucy moaned.

"Oh Lu-chan…" Levy murmured comfortingly; laying a hand on her friend's arm. "Maybe her plan won't be so bad this time?"

Lucy didn't bother replying. They both knew that wouldn't be the case. Levy herself had already suffered three failed schemes á la Mira. After each one, the poor girl had been unable to face Gajeel for three straight weeks. To his credit, Gajeel had showed no obvious outward changes, but Lucy was observant enough to spot the slight coloring on his neck whenever he and Levy had gotten anywhere near each other afterward. Others had been less fortunate, Romeo and Wendy were still avoiding each other after a scheme which had occurred over a month ago, and Juvia had returned to watching Gray from afar, after a particular horrifying plan gone wrong. There was no doubt that whatever Mira's plan was, it would be nothing short of terrible.

* * *

"Master Sting!" The Light Dragon Slayer glanced up moodily from the glass he'd been staring into. Before him stood a new addition to his guild, a boy, about eight years younger than Sting himself, but promising nevertheless. If he could recall correctly, the boy had joined shortly after the Grand Magic Games and had rather impressive water magic. Nothing on level with Juvia of Fairy Tail, but one day he might prove a worthy opponent for the Fairy Tail mage. Not that there would be any reason for the two mages to fight, the guilds being on relatively friendly terms now.

"Keith right?" The boy nodded eagerly, his long brown hair sweeping over his face. Inwardly, Sting grinned. He'd been trying to remember all the newbies names, to prove that he was a better master than Jiemma and that Sabertooth had changed from the power hungry guild it had once been. "What's bugging you?"

Seeming to remember why he was there, the boy's smile faltered. "Well…well it's just that Yukino's been absent for a while sir. Much longer than she should have been given her mission." Sting's frown returned at the boys words. Keith wasn't telling Sting anything he didn't already know. From the moment Yukino had left the guild for her first solo mission, the Dragon Slayer had been on edge. He hadn't wanted to admit it at the time, but he was worried about her. It wasn't that she wasn't capable of taking on the relatively easy mission, but that he wouldn't be there to protect her. Not that she needed his protection per say; just that in his absences she could be hurt and Sting hated to think of anything injuring the Celestial Mage further. Sabertooth had done enough to her, while that bastard, Jiemma, had been in charge, to last anyone a life time. Especially if that someone was as compassionate and beautiful as Yukino.

"I know, Keith." The boy's face seemed to drop; as if he was fearful of a lashing for his worries. "But thanks. For worrying that is. Proves I was right to bring you into our guild!" Sting grinned widely at the clearly shocked boy. "I want only guild members who worry and care for their nakama in Sabertooth." Keith nodded and smiled back at his master, showing that there was a gap between two of his top teeth.

"So there's nothing to worry about then?" Sting's grin slipped slightly at the question.

"I didn't say that." He murmured barely enough for anyone other than himself to hear, before answering much louder, "not at all." Reassured, the boy scampered off to rejoin his fellow guild mates and their loud antics.

"Lying already?" Came an even voice from behind the Light Dragon Slayer.

Turning, Sting half-shrugged. "Not lying exactly, just not…ya alright lying." He chuckled lowly, running a hand through his spiky hair. "She's been gone over a week Rogue. That's way too long for a simple mission like that."

Rogue nodded, his eyes traveling around the guild to watch for any eavesdroppers. It wouldn't be good to introduce trouble to such a new group of people. Too many unknowns. He knew Sting was right to lie, but that didn't mean the Shadow Dragon Slayer was happy about it. "We should send a search party. Keep it small though. Need to know basis."

Sting's smile returned slightly. "Sounds like a job for the Twin Dragons" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"You'd be leaving Sabertooth without a master."

"Rufus and Orga are more than capable of watching over everything while I'm gone. Besides, I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines while you get to have all the fun. It's time we started taking missions together again." Sting threw his arm around his friend, drawing him closer.

"Things have changed Sting. You know that." Rogue warned, not bothering to fight off the brotherly affection.

"Doesn't mean everything has to." The blonde Dragon Slayer countered easily. Already, his eyes were searching the guild for the other two GMG team members. Spotting them nearby, Sting began to drag Rogue over. "It's like testing the waters. Nothing too big. Just making sure Yukino is alright."

Rogue decided it was better to not argue. From the way Sting was pushing the matter, he doubted his friend would settle for anything less than finding the white haired mage for himself anyway. Despite his ability to seem aloof and disinterested in others, the Shadow Dragon Slayer knew that the Celestial Mage was special to his friend and was secretly cheering the two on in their clumsy advances.

"Rufus! Orga!" Sting greeted the two men.

"Master," Rufus responded respectfully, while Orga simply glowered down at them.

"No calling me Master, remember?"

Rufus tipped his hat, but did not agree to the request. "What can we do for you?"

"Rogue and I wanted to go on a little…trip." Sting began, careful to avoid sounding suspicious at all. Which only served to do the opposite.

"A trip? My memory doesn't recall any previous trips. May I inquire on the destination?" A small smile crooked at the corners of Rufus's mouth, but otherwise his face and voice remained impassive as ever.

"No where particular. More to explore and have some fun. I've been stuffed in here too much lately. I want to get out and throw a few punches."

"You can throw a few punches here Sting." Orga spoke, amusement in his eyes.

"True, but a Master shouldn't fight his guild. He might hurt someone." Rogue glanced sharply at his twin. The challenge there was undeniable. Sting was strong, but Orga was not someone anyone normally challenged. He'd fought Fairy Tail's Laxus in the Grand Magic Games and barely lost. Even Natsu couldn't challenge Laxus properly. Did Sting honestly think he could defeat Orga so easily?

Luckily, Orga laughed and slapped a hand on Sting's shoulder. "A funny jest indeed. What is it that you want from the two of us?"

"I want you to watch the guild while I'm gone. Temporary leaders, I guess. Just keep everyone out of trouble." The men nodded.

"Fair enough. When can we expect you to return." Sting glanced at Rogue, silence stretching awkwardly at Rufus's question.

This time it was Rogue who answered, "we'll send word." Rufus nodded, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Good luck then."


	2. Chapter Two: Helping Friends

Lucy groaned as Mira threw another glance over her shoulder at the blonde mage and then over to where Natsu and Grey sat at one of the back tables; arguing, as usual. They'd been doing that for days now, Mira and Lisanna, steeling looks at her and Natsu. It was as frightening as it was maddening and finally, Lucy had had enough.

Pushing aside her strawberry milkshake, the blonde stalked over to the mission board and grabbed one at random, not casting it a second glance. "Natsu," she barked at the pink-haired mage. "We're going on a mission."

Like a switch, his scowl turned into a smile and he bounded over, after giving the Ice Mage a hard jab to the stomach. "Sweet, when do we leave?"

"Now."

Natsu raised his eyebrows at his partner's tone, but remained silent on the subject and instead turned his attention to the paper in her hand. "What's the mission?" When the blonde only shrugged, the Dragon Slayer reached forward and grabbed the paper for himself. His eye lit up as he read the paper; it was nothing like the ones Lucy normally picked.

"It's not too far…can we walk?" He tried, slowly sliding the paper behind his back.

Lucy started to shrug, then froze. Eyeing him warily, she stuck out her hand. "Let me see that first."

Pouting, Natsu held out the paper and waited for the inevitable.

"WE ARE NOT WALKING BAKA!"

* * *

"Where now Sting-kun?" Turning to look at his exceed, Sting resisted the urge to punch something. He had no idea where to look now; they'd arrived at Clover Town hoping to find an embarrassed Yukino waiting for them. Instead they'd found nothing. She'd arrived and successfully completed her mission, a day early, he thought with pride, and then disappeared. No one had any clue where she'd disappeared to, let alone why she'd been gone for so long.

When his friend didn't reply, Rogue spoke up. "I think we need a break. Some food might help us think."

"Frosch thinks so too!" Piped up his frog-cat, Frosh, as Rogue and the two exceeds began to walk in search of a good restaurant.

"Whatever." Sting muttered, stalking after them. He knew he was being difficult. A complete asshole actually. But he couldn't help it; his mind was a mess. He was both worried, that something had happened to the girl he'd promised to always protect, and pissed, that he hadn't been there to help her when she'd needed it. Again.

He didn't even know if there was anything to be worried about though, he had no real reason to believe she was in trouble. He wanted nothing more than to believe the majority of his mind that was telling him he was overreacting, but he couldn't ignore the small part that insisted everything was not all right. It was like he just knew she was in danger. His instincts were screaming it.

"Quit thinking. It doesn't suit you." Snapping back to the present, Sting grinned, unwillingly, at his friend. Rogue was right. Worrying and overanalyzing wasn't going to make Yukino appear. Then again neither would sitting down and eating lunch. But he supposed it couldn't hurt.

"I forgot, that's your job isn't it?" Rogue smirked and nodded at a building behind him.

"How about there?" It looked decent enough. Loud and busy. The smell coming from it was mouth watering too. Suddenly, a loud growl erupted from the Dragon Slayer and the four friends laughed.

"Good enough." Sting answered before racing Lector to the entrance; Rogue and Frosch trailing after.

* * *

"Natsu stop complaining already. We've been off the train for over an hour." Both Happy and Lucy glanced at the clock over their heads. The blonde sighed while the blue cat simply snickered; it had taken Lucy exactly one hour and 15 minutes to snap. A new record.

"I hate trains," the pink-haired mage protested, rubbing his stomach as Lucy continued to rub circles in his hair. "Walking wouldn't have taken that much longer."

Slapping a hand to her face, Lucy moaned in exasperation. There was no arguing with the idiot; not that that was going to stop her. "Walking would have taken days, but we got here in a few hours. How exactly is that not a huge difference?"

Natsu shrugged. "More time together." At his words, Lucy's hand dropped from her eyes to cover her slightly red cheeks. Natsu always said things—sweet things—like that, as if they meant nothing to the Dragon Slayer. As if they weren't embarrassing. He was clueless; and his next words confirmed that. "Why is your face red?"

"It's…hot." Lucy muttered, turning her face away to hide the deepening blush growing on her face.

"No it's not, weirdo." And just like that, Lucy's embarrassment vanished and was replaced with annoyance. Why did he have to be so…so Natsu-like! Every time he said something close to romantic or hinted to there possibly being more than friendship between the two mages, he ruined it seconds later by being a moron. He could probably read her book and be none the wiser by the end of it to be honest. The only way the Dragon Slayer would ever realize her feelings for him would be if Lucy came straight out and told him she was falling in love with him. Not that she would ever do that, but the fact remained true nonetheless.

"Says the boy who's afraid of a train. Get up; I'm hungry." Like a switch, the pouting Dragon Slayer immediately became reenergized and jumped up from where his head had been resting in his partner's lap.

"Great idea! Come on, I know the perfect place. Lots of grease and fat, just for you." Before she could protest, Lucy found herself being dragged down the streets with Happy cackling evilly from above.

The place Natsu dragged her to was indeed perfect. To be honest, when she'd suggested food, she hadn't been all that hungry; she'd just wanted to revive her friend, but the instant she caught a whiff of the food, her mouth was watering and Lucy found herself eager to sink her teeth into a hamburger.

Unfortunately, the line to get into the restaurant was long. Long enough to wrap out the door and into the street.

"Woah." She voiced, as the three of them joined the ridiculous line. "There's no way it's this popular."

Natsu shrugged. "It was new the last time I came."

"How long of a wait do you think it is?" Again the Dragon Slayer shrugged, but didn't reply this time. His face was focused and intense. "What is it?"

"Something smells familiar, but I can't pick it up with all the other scents." Lucy raised an eyebrow and glanced around. Twice her eyes passed over the various tables set out around the building before her mind registered that she recognized the occupants at one.

"I think I figured out what you were smelling." Confused, Natsu halted his own perusal and looked down at her only to see she was staring, and grinning, in another direction. Following her gaze, his eyes landed on two very familiar Dragon Slayers and their exceeds.

The Twin Dragons, busy staring at their menus, didn't notice as a curvaceous blonde and grinning pinkette approached their table. Lector and Frosch on the other hand, noticed immediately as Happy landed next to them, all three wearing matching smiles.

"Long time no see." Lector greeted, slapping a hand onto the blue cat's back.

"Frosch agrees!" Stated the other cheerfully.

Looking up, Sting barely had time to register the new occupant of their table before he found himself staring straight up at the sky; his chair gone from beneath him. "What the hell-?"

"Natsu!" Lucy reprimanded, hitting her partner before leaning over to help Sting up. "That was rude."

Ignoring her chastising, Natsu punched the other Dragon Slayer, Rogue, in the arm. "Haven't seen the two of you since the games." Flinching slightly, Rogue raised his red eyes to onyx ones.

"Good to see you too." Quickly the dark haired mage's eyes flashed over the rest of the party.

Sensing his unspoken question, Lucy supplied the answer to his unspoken question. "Gajeel isn't here. Just us this time." Rogue nodded once and flashed her a small smile.

"Natsu-nii!" Both Lucy and Rogue jumped as a recovered Sting tackled the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Well that was," Lucy began, watching the two wrestling mages with an unsure expression on her face.

"Unexpected." Rogue finished for her, staring at their respective partners, his mouth open slightly. Apparently Sting had gotten over any remaining distaste for Natsu and was back to hero-worshipping him.

Turning away from the embarrassing display of brotherly-love happening between her partner and Sting, Lucy addressed Rogue again. "We were just planning on stopping here to eat as well. Do you mind if we join you? The line…" she glanced back to where they had been standing only to see it had grown in the past few minutes and was even longer than before.

"Is long. Be my guest. I doubt we could separate those two if we wanted to anyway." Laughing, Lucy took the seat Sting had left open. "I think Sting was sitting there."

Looking pointedly at the two mages—Natsu currently had Sting pinned to the ground—Lucy shrugged. "If he minds I'll move, but I doubt he'll be able to stand being more than a few inches from his Natsu-nii." That earned her a laugh from the Shadow Dragon Slayer and Lucy grinned. She was glad the four of them were now friends instead of the enemies they'd been during the Grand Magic Games.

Eventually Natsu and Sting settled down enough to join Lucy and Rogue back at the table. After ordering their food—Lucy a hamburger, Rogue and Sting identical steaks and fries to share with their exceeds, Happy a fish platter, and Natsu the entire menu (much to Lucy's exasperation)—the group began to swap stories of their adventures since they'd last seen each other until their food arrived and then no one had a spare breath to talk as they were too busy digging into the delicious food.

Lucy was the first to finish, followed quickly by Rogue, Sting, Frosch, and Lector respectively; Natsu and Happy were still busy devouring their abundance of food, while Sting laughed and Lucy resisted cringing every time a piece of food flew her way. Ignoring her disgusting partner and addressing the other two Dragon Slayers, Lucy asked the question Rogue had been dreading. "So what are you four doing in Clover Town?"

Immediately, Sting's smile dropped. "We're looking for Yukino." He grunted, eyes trained down at his empty plate.

Startled, Lucy refrained from questioning further, but Natsu was not as tactful. "Why?" He questioned through a mouth so full the word came out more like 'Fuhy?'

"She came here on a mission, but didn't return to the guild on completion. We figured she might be staying here a few extra days and," Rogue glanced at Sting's frustrated face before continuing, "we wanted to surprise her."

"And did you?" Lucy asked, not missing the glance Rogue had sent his partner. She doubted it was really the _two _of them who'd been missing the pretty, blue-haired Celestial Mage.

"No one's seen her." Rogue explained, his eyes flashing from Lucy's to Sting's.

"What?" Voiced a confused Happy, a half eaten fish inches from his mouth. "Did she not come here at all?"

"No, she was here." Sting answered; bringing his hands up to run through his messy hair. "She just disappeared after completing her mission. No one's seen or heard from her for almost a week. Something's wrong."

"What makes you think that?" Questioned Natsu, who'd thankfully finished off the last of his ridiculously large meal. "Maybe she just got lost coming home."

Sting shook his head; glaring at the table. "No. She's in trouble; I know it. I can feel it." Lucy raised her eyebrows at his words; glancing up to look at Rogue. He seemed just as surprised by his partner's words. "I know it sounds crazy. Paranoid even. But there's something in my gut telling me that Yukino's in danger and needs my help." His eyes were wild, as he brought them up to met Natsu's, and Lucy instantly knew he was telling the truth. It wasn't just simple paranoia driving emotions like that. Natsu had displayed similar panic when she'd gone to speak with her father after he commissioned Phantom Lord to kidnap her from Fairy Tail and force her home. "What can we do to help?"

Sting's eyes rounded to hers, "what?"

She smiled softly and rested a hand on his comfortingly. "If Yukino's in trouble then I want to help. She helped us when we needed it in the king's palace. It's time to return the favor."

"Besides," Natsu spoke up, gazing at his partner with an odd expression. "Yukino's our friend as much as yours. And at Fairy Tail we help our friends when they need it." At their words, Sting dropped his head into his hands.

Smiling softly, Lucy turned to Rogue. "So how can we help?"

* * *

As it turned out, there really wasn't that much Natsu, Lucy, or Happy could do to assist their Sabertooth friends; the trail really had gone cold.

"Shit!" Sting lashed out as another citizen turned out to be useless in their hunt; punching a nearby wall before stomping off. After a moment or two, Natsu had followed after, indicating for the three exceeds, Rogue, and Lucy to wait.

Lucy frowned as she too grew frustrated. It didn't make any sense, how could someone just disappear without a single person knowing where to look? "There has to be something we're missing. No one's seen her since she completed her mission, right?"

Rogue nodded, not following the blonde's thoughts. "Evidently she's just vanished."

Lucy shook her head. "No that's not possible. No one can just vanish…something had to draw her away from Clover Town. But not in any direction traveled frequently." The Celestial Mage's mind was racing. She'd always been good at puzzles and mysteries, one of the reasons the genre appealed to her so much.

"We can't exactly go around asking for hidden paths though." Happy pointed out unhelpfully.

"I know that." Lucy snapped, glaring at the cat. "It wouldn't be a hidden path anyway. No girl would travel some sketchy path alone, unless she was dumb. And Yukino's not stupid."

"Then she was taken?" Lector piped in, further distracting Lucy from her trail of thought.

"No. Someone would have noticed that or at the very least have heard some kind of a struggle." Rogue opened his mouth to speak, but Lucy threw up her hands. "Let me think for a second." She hesitated, as if waiting for another interruption, before continuing her thinking aloud. "Alright, so no one has seen or heard anything to indicate a public kidnapping. Which means that she walked out of town of her own accord, but not on a route visible to most people. It couldn't have been anything too hidden though either. Which implies a route known, just unused…no not unused. Someone had to direct her to it…but no one seems to have a clue where she went. So no one could have directed her to it. Then she noticed the path for herself. Maybe she's used it on this mission or a past one. How many times has she been to Clover Town?"

It took Rogue a minute to realize she was addressing him. "I'm not sure. Not many."

"Alright so she doesn't know the town well enough to know where many different routes lead, let alone remember past ones. Implying that she utilized it on this mission. There's our clue." Grinning, Lucy slammed her hands together and waited for the others to share in her aha moment.

"What is?" Happy asked, ruining the blonde's excitement.

Sighing, Lucy answered his question. "The mission Yukino took and completed here. It couldn't have been in town, no one's been talking about it and nothing's destroyed, which means it took her out of town."

"You're right." Rogue complimented in awe. He'd always assumed Lucy lived up to the stereotype surrounding blonde's, but apparently he'd been wrong. "Her job was to defeat a monster hiding out in a small mountain outside of the city. She'd only stopped here to meet the mission requester before and after it's completion."

"We should look around there then."

"Now?"

Lucy nodded. "Why not? If Yukino's in as much trouble as Sting seems to think, then we have no time to waste…Happy and Lector can go find Sting and Natsu to tell them where we've gone and you, Frosch, and I can head out there now."

After a minute's deliberation, Rogue nodded. The girl was right. They really had no time to lose and with both Happy and Lector searching for the other two Dragon Slayers, the group wouldn't be separated for very long. "Let's go."

* * *

It had taken Natsu mere minutes to catch up with the retreating Light Dragon Slayer. Calming him down on the other hand, wasn't as easy.

"Oi, Sting!" The pink haired mage cried, as he wrapped a hand around Sting's bicep. "Slow down."

Sting shrugged off the strong grip, but paused nevertheless. "What do you want Natsu?"

Walking around to his front, Natsu forced his face into Sting's unwilling one. "I want you to come back to where the others are. Getting pissed and stalking off isn't going to bring Yukino back."

"Don't you think I know that?!" Sting snapped, pushing the other mage away from him. "I know pouting isn't going to fix anything! I just don't know what else to do. We've asked almost every damn person in this city and no one has any idea where she can be! I know getting pissed isn't going to help, but I don't know what else **to** do." By the end of his rant, Sting's chest was heaving and Natsu was standing dumbstruck.

A long silence stretched between the two, before Sting broke it once more. "Sorry, I don't know what got into me just then."

"Don't you?"

The question startled the blonde. Natsu had never challenged him in that way before. "I have an idea."

Natsu grinned. "Just an idea?"

Sting shook his head and remained silent for a long time.

No it wasn't just an idea. Ever since he'd begun to get the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, he'd known the reason. He just hadn't been willing to admit it to himself. Now with his friend and hero challenging him to admit it however, Sting found it easier to consider the possibility of it being true.

Yukino wasn't just like the other guild members he was master over. She was different. Special. To him at least. In a way similar to how Rogue or Lector were. Similar, but not exact; because if Sting was really and truly honest with himself then he would have to admit that Yukino was more special. Or at least special in a way very different than how either of his friends where. Rogue was like the bother he'd never had; while Lector was the son he'd never known he'd wanted. But Yukino…Yukino was far from the category of family. She fell into a category all her own. One that no other person would ever be able to fill again. Fuck.

"The sooner you admit it, the easier it'll be for you to accept."

Anger coursing through his veins at Natsu's insistence, Sting rounded on the other slayer. "And what about you? Have you admitted what your partner means to you?"

The smirk on the other boy's face vanished and was replaced instead with an intensity Sting had never expected to grace Natsu Dragneel's features. "I've always known what Lucy is to me. From the moment I met her, I knew. It took me a single day to accept it and from that time on I've never once let her go. I'm not ashamed, why are you?"

"Who said I'm ashamed?"

"No one. They didn't need to. It's clear from the way you're acting." Sting recoiled as if Natsu had punched him. He'd never meant to act as if his confusion was shameful, but had he unintentionally done so? As if sensing his confusion, Natsu continued. "Every time you start to show how worried and scared you are, you hide it by getting pissed and aggressive. Like back there, you didn't really want to punch a wall. What you wanted to do was scream or collapse or curl into a ball. Not knowing where she is or what's happened to her is killing you inside. The feeling you're claiming to get in your gut is a lie. It's really as if a part of you has been torn out and you're drowning in it's emptiness. Right?"

Sting nodded, shocked that Natsu, of all people, was accurately describing how he was feeling. "How…?"

"How do I know?" The Dragon Slayer laughed; tugging at the scarf wrapped around his neck. "It feels the same way when she's actually hurt you know. When you watch helplessly as she fights for everyone you both care about only to be tossed around like a rag doll until finally, mercifully, she's thrown to the ground like nothing more than a broken toy." Sting flinched at the reminder of the fight between Lucy and Minerva. Recalling how the Celestial Mage had looked, cradled in Natsu's and Gray's arms, he felt extreme guilt and shame. His guild had caused Natsu to feel the same pain he himself was currently experiencing; something he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

"Natsu…"

But Natsu simply shook his head and said, "things are different now."

Before Sting or Natsu could say anything more, they were interrupted by the appearance of Happy and Lector.

"Sting-kun!"

"Natsu!"

Looking around, the two Dragon Slayers easily spotted the source of the cries.

"What's wrong?" Questioned Natsu instantly; eyes searching past Happy for a familiar head of blonde hair. "Where's Lucy?"

"And Rogue?" Added Sting.

"Lucy had an idea of where to look next. She, Rogue, and Frosch went to check it out and sent us to get you two." Happy informed them.

Sting grabbed him excitedly. "Where?!"


	3. Chapter Three: Let the Games Begin

Darkness swirled around her, but Yukino felt herself rising to the surface. As she became aware of the world around her, Yukino shivered. It was cold, so cold. But past the cold was a dull ache in her bones.

Struggling against the numb comfort that was her mind, Yukino tried to recall where she was and how she had gotten there. She could remember running, so much running. Fear; a dark form following after her. And a sudden onslaught of pain was all that swam willing to the surface of her mind.

With a great effort, Yukino pushed past the urge to sleep, and blinked her eyes open, only to be disappointed. There was hardly any difference between the darkness of her eyelids and that of wherever she was. Vaguely, she could make out a ceiling a few meters above her head, but nothing about it looked remotely familiar. Turning her head minutely—ignoring the stiffness of her neck as she did so—Yukino surveyed the rest of the area.

She was laying in a cell, the Celestial Mage realized with a jolt, bars encasing one entire side of the room, the other three made entirely out of large chunks of granite, the ground beneath her a slightly smoother extension of that granite. Feeling her fear begin to return, Yukino pushed herself up and checked herself over.

Her first thought went to her keys and was horrified to find them missing; whoever had taken her had trapped her well, separating her from the only things she had a hope of escaping and fighting with. The rest of her body was covered in scattered bruises and cuts, but nothing overly worrisome. Raising her eyes from her injuries, Yukino glanced around the cell once more. The walls were solid and provided no chance of escape; leaving the bars as her only hope. Crawling over, her hopes were immediately dashed. Without even touching them, she knew there was no hope of her escaping her prison through sheer force; even Sting wouldn't have been capable of such a feat.

Sting. His name sent another jolt of hope through her body. Surely by now he had to have noticed she was missing and, at the very least, sent a search party out for her. Part of her even dared to hope that he would be the one to find her, no matter how unlikely it seemed.

"You're awake." Startled, she let out a cry and jumped away from the cloaked figure who'd suddenly appeared outside the cell. The figure chuckled and leaned forward, "did I scare you, little girl?"

"Who are you? Where am I? What do you want from me? What did you do with my keys?" At her questions, the man's laughter rang through the cell once more.

"All in good time my dear girl," Yukino sneered at his belittling tone. "Another guest is required before the fun can begin."

"Who?" Despite not being able to see his face, she could sense the sick enjoyment her question brought him. Without even hearing the answer, Yukino knew she did not want him to reply.

"A dear friend of yours: Lucy Heartfilia." He laughed once more before disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving Yukino alone in the dark once more.

* * *

It didn't take more than an hour for Natsu, Sting, Lector, and Happy to arrive at the mountain Rogue, Frosch, and Lucy had gone ahead to.

As usual, Natsu had raced ahead, so he was the first of the group to realize that something was seriously wrong. He could clearly smell Rogue and Frosch, but Lucy's scent was much fainter and mixed heavily with another's. Speeding up, he didn't notice a body blocking his path before it was too late and he collided with an unconscious Rogue.

Scrambling up, Natsu ignored the Shadow Dragon Slayer and searched desperately for his partner. Meanwhile, Sting and the two exceeds caught up and raced immediately to Rogue's side.

Slapping the unconscious boy until he began to stir, Sting called for his friend to wake up.

"Quit it!" The boy growled from beneath him.

Halting his desperate search at Rogue's voice, Natsu sprang back to where the others were. "What happened? Where's Lucy?"

"And Frosch?" Lector further prompted.

"He's right here," Rogue nodded to his arms, where, sure enough, the little cat was wrapped in his arms. "And Lucy's…" Rogue furrowed his brows when the Celestial Mage didn't appear to be anywhere around them. "She was right here…"

"What the hell happened?" Sting asked, wary of the agitation and anger rolling off Natsu.

"We got here, and started looking around for any sign of Yukino when…" understanding suddenly dawned on Rogue's face and he looked with horror at the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"When what?" Natsu growled. It was obvious he already knew what had happened and was just waiting for the other slayer to confirm it.

"When we were attacked. These…wolves came from nowhere and swarmed us. They looked like demons, with glowing red eyes and fur that vanished in the sunlight. They swarmed on the two of us; cutting her off from me. I didn't see…" Rogue looked away from Natsu, unable to bear seeing the raw emotion there. Instead he spoke to Sting. "She screamed, I-I was going to help her, but then one went for Frosch and…and…"

"And you saved him instead." Natsu finished, his voice flat. His tone had directed no blame at the slayer, but nevertheless Rogue flinched and looked away, shame filling him.

He'd been so afraid that his future self's prophecy of Frosch's death would be fulfilled in that instant that he hadn't cast a second thought towards the Celestial Mage's safety. Even if Natsu didn't find fault in his actions, he, himself, did. In the end, the wolf hadn't even landed near enough to Frosch to pose a real threat, and while he'd been distracted, another had knocked him out from behind. His choice had resulted in Lucy's disappearance whether Natsu blamed him or not.

"We don't even know if she's missing; maybe she's just…gone after the wolves or something." Sting attempted to comfort his friend and Rogue looked up hopefully only to see Natsu shake his head.

"I already told you Sting; when it comes to Lucy, I feel the same thing you do with Yukino."

"Which means what exactly?" Happy asked, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

Natsu turned to him, his face hard, "it means she's gone."

* * *

"Let me go!" Lucy screamed as she was dragged further into the darkness. Her keys had been stripped from her the moment her captor had caught her, and despite her distress Loke seemed unable to appear. His absence confused her more than anything, but she did her best not to dwell on it. It would simply be up to her to escape.

She'd seen Rogue go down and had moved to help him and Frosch, but the moment her friend collapsed, a new addition had come into the fray, replacing the mysterious dog-like creatures. Within seconds Lucy had found herself pinned to the ground by magic while her keys and whip were taken. She'd screamed and kicked, but all of it was to no avail. Her captor was strong, impossibly so, and had simply yanked on her hair until she'd quieted. Once she was defenseless, the man holding her had yanked her up and the two had descended into darkness. Literally, the shadows seemed to leap away from the forest to swarm around their feet and Lucy had felt a sinking feeling as the shadows pulled her into their freezing depths. They'd appeared moments later in complete darkness inside some sort of tunnel.

Lucy opened her mouth to scream again, but was cut off by another voice, "Lucy?" Startled, Lucy barely noticed as her captor released her for a moment to unlock a steel cage.

"Yukino?" She managed before the harsh hands returned to her arms and she was pushed inside. Unprepared, Lucy fell hard against the stone floor, cutting her hands and knees as she did so. "Shit."

Small, warm hands supported her as she turned over to cradle her injured palms. "Are you alright?" Lucy blinked and focused on the shadowed face before her. It was in fact Yukino. The girl's eyes were wide with worry and her body was a mixture of half-healed bruises and cuts, but otherwise seemed to be unharmed.

"I'm fine. What about you? We'd been searching for you…" Lucy trailed off as the irony of her situation hit her. What was the point of a rescue mission if you found yourself captured as well?

"Besides the obvious issue of being trapped? Fine." The girls smiled softly at each other at the poor attempt at humor. "How long have I been gone?"

The question wasn't all that strange, but surprised Lucy nevertheless. "I'm not sure. Natsu and I had happened upon Sting and Rogue who had been looking for you."

"Sting?" Yukino's voice sounded choked as she spoke his name, and again Lucy wondered at the relationship blooming between the Celestial Mage and Dragon Slayer. It was odd considering their history but cute, in a strange way.

"He's really worried about you." Yukino blushed and looked down slightly at her words. "Rogue and I were going to check out a lead when we were attacked and I was…taken." The reminder made Lucy's heart sink. She really was useless in fights.

"Not taken my dear," Lucy and Yukino jumped at the new voice. "Saved." Spinning towards the entrance, the two girls saw they were no longer alone. A new cloaked figure stood where Lucy's captor had moments before, but this one was much taller and seemed far more powerful.

"You have us both, now what do you want?" Lucy raised an eyebrow at Yukino's words, but refused to take her eyes of the man.

The man chuckled, and reached a hand out to grip the bars. "To save you my dear Yukino."

"Save us from what exactly?" Lucy questioned, standing and crossing her hands over her chest as she did.

Her actions seemed to excite the man as he leaned forward even more. "Lucy Heartfilia, even more beautiful and defiant than I had first heard."

"Cut the crap and answer my question."

"Those so called friends of yours." Confused, Lucy glanced at Yukino only to see her looking as lost as the blonde felt.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Lucy prompted further.

The man only laughed, stepping away from their cell. "There's no need to rush the fun my dear Lucy. You shall see, very soon." With those final words, he disappeared.

"What a weirdo." Lucy mumbled as she turned to look at Yukino. "Has he said anything to you while you were here?"

Yukino started to shake her head, but paused. "Only that the 'fun' would begin when you arrived, but I don't know what that means." Lucy bit her lip, despite Yukino's denial of any knowledge, the blonde suspected they were both having similar thoughts. Torture and fun seemed to be relatively interchangeable when it came to the vocabulary of lunatics (a word that definitely defined their captor).

"Worrying about it won't change the fact that we have no control at the moment. The others are looking for the both of us now and I'd hate to be him when Sting and Natsu get their hands on him" Yukino blushed and smiled slightly at Lucy's less than discrete hint. It was nice that the other girl suspected something between her and her guild master, maybe it really wasn't all in her head. "Let's get some rest, you look like you need it." Yukino nodded and pulled Lucy over to a slightly more comfortable batch of floor before the two girls lay down beside one another; gripping their hands together tightly to remind themselves that they were not alone.

* * *

Lucy awoke to the sound of a fight. Blinking, it wasn't long before her eyes adjusted to the light and she could make out flashes of fire bursting into their cell from down the tunnel. Wide awake, and grinning, Lucy dashed over to the bars and pressed her face tightly between two, hoping to catch a glimpse of Natsu—come to rescue her and Yukino. Remembering the other Celestial Mage, Lucy turned to wake her up only to find the cell empty.

Confused, Lucy scrambled back to where she had slept, searching for any sign of what might have befallen her friend. Finding none, Lucy raced back to the bars and strained to catch a glimpse of her partner. Once Natsu freed her, they'd be able to search for Yukino together. She couldn't have been taken very far.

Still unable to see any signs of Natsu other than his fire, Lucy called out. "Natsu!" The sounds of fighting halted completely, leaving a sudden and bone chilling silence. "Natsu?"

"Lucy…" The voice was far away, but for some reason seemed off. As if it wasn't actually Natsu calling her; the idea sent a chill down Lucy's spin. Back away from the bars, the blonde waited as heavy footsteps began to make their way toward her. Something felt wrong. She'd never felt afraid when Natsu was anywhere near her. Maybe this place was messing with her mind in some way.

Before she could pinpoint exactly why she felt so frightened, a familiar pink head appeared outside the bars. "Natsu!" All sense of fear gone, Lucy rushed to the bars and gripped at her friend's arms to assure herself it was in fact him. "How'd you find me?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, and gestured towards his nose. "Dragon Slayer, remember?" Lucy laughed.

"Right, forgot about that freaky scent tracking ability of yours. You're like a dog you know that right?" Natsu grimaced at the comparison, but let the slight dig drop.

"Where's Yukino?"

"I don't know, she was here when I went to sleep, but must have been taken sometime in the night." At her words Natsu frowned.

Jerking from her grip, he backed up and surveyed her with disapproval. "And you let them take her?"

Confused, Lucy reached for him once more, but found her way blocked by the bars. "I was asleep Natsu…"

"So what? Any of the rest of us would have woken up to help her. What if they're hurting her Lucy? Mavis, do you ever think about anyone but yourself?" Stung, Lucy fell back a step. "All you ever do is make excuses. It's about time you own up to the fact that you're completely useless. I don't know why I even bother to save you; you don't belong in Fairy Tail."

"Natsu…" Lucy cried, tears stinging at the back of her eyes. He'd never talked to her so cruelly. It didn't make sense. Natsu wasn't mean; he was warm and sweet. This wasn't right. This couldn't be her Natsu.

At the realization, the image disappeared and Lucy found herself staring at an empty hallway.

The fake Natsu was gone. It had been some sort of illusion or trick. Her Natsu, There would never speak to her in that way. They were partners, best friends, and nakama. Nevertheless, the words had still hurt. They'd struck a cord in her that she hadn't known was there. Maybe there really was some truth to the fake Natsu's words, after all she had managed to get captured and stuck in the same prison she had been trying to save Yukino from.

The sound of sobbing jolted Lucy from her introspection. Shaking away the self-doubt, she turned and saw that Yukino was pressed against the back wall, sobbing into her hand, a look of complete anguish and disbelief on her face.

Snapping into action, Lucy dashed over and gently shook the other Celestial Mage until her eyes focused on hers, and not whatever it was she was imagining.

"Lucy," the girl cried, tears filling her eyes, "I-I thought he'd come to save me…but then he was yelling at me…telling me I was a disgrace to the guild…"

Ignoring the oddly similar parallels, Lucy pulled the pale haired mage to her, enveloping her in a tight hug. "It wasn't real, whatever you heard wasn't real. There's some kind of magic here making us imagine our fears. He wasn't here…" She winced when she realized that might not actually be the most comforting news.

"It felt so real…" Yukino's sobs had slowed, but betrayal was laced heavily in her words. Lucy couldn't exactly blame her either; unlike her, Yukino had already been through the betrayal of her entire guild. It wasn't hard to imagine her fearing it would one day happen again.

"But it wasn't. Sting and Natsu would never say those kinds of things to us…we're all friends." Yukino glanced up surprised when Lucy mentioned Natsu's name, but remained silent on the subject. "What we need to worry about, is why we saw those images in the first place. There has to be some kind of magic cast over the cell or even us. If we're not careful we could easily fall for another trick." Releasing Yukino, and stepping back slightly, the blonde's eyes roamed critically over the walls and ceiling. There had to be some sign of what they were dealing with.

Yukino however was still staring at her. "Y-you snapped me out of it, but how'd you recognize that what you were seeing was false?"

A twinge of guilt swept over Lucy at the question. She hadn't, not really, some part of her had completely bought into the lie which meant that on some level she believed Natsu could say those words to her. He was her best friend, she should have more faith in him than that.

"I don't know. Something just felt off about Natsu I guess. Like I didn't get the warm buzzing feeling I normally get when I hear his voice. Instead I felt cold. And then when he started saying…saying those things to me, it didn't feel real…" The blonde trailed off not knowing how to continue. There really wasn't a way to explain what had broken her out of the trance…maybe it had something to do with her begin a Fairy Tail mage longer than Yukino had been a member of Sabertooth. Perhaps she was more familiar with her guild mates than the other mage was simply because she'd known them longer? Or maybe it was simply a fluke? Whatever the cause, the event sat uneasily with the mage. Their captor had warned that the games would be beginning for her and Yukino, and if this was what he had been alluding to…well it was worse than she had ever imagined.


	4. Chapter Four: Celestial Plan

"What do we do now?" Rouge raised an eyebrow at his friend, it was rare for Sting to leave it to him to lead. Rarer still for the blond to look so distraught and lost. The Twin Dragon Slayers were huddled together a little way away from Natsu, who they'd just managed to calm down enough to stop punching everything within his reach and was now seated in the exact space Lucy's smell disappeared. He and Happy were in a surprisingly deep conversation, which seemed to be going as well as his and Sting's was.

"Honestly, I don't know. This was our only led to begin with, and now Lucy's gone as well." A low growl rumbled from the direction Natsu was in, and Rouge glanced uneasily at the other Dragon Slayer. He'd never seen the boy so deadly, not even at the GMG. He'd been angry then, but he'd still treated their match like a fun game. This was different. He seemed ready to tear apart anyone who so much as approached him.

"We keep looking." As he spoke, Natsu stood and approached where the other two sat. "We're going to find Lucy and Yukino and rip this bastard apart." A chill traveled down Rouge's spin at the dark words.

"And where exactly do you suppose we start?" Sting snapped, the tension radiating off of him was nearly equal to Natsu's. One pissed off Dragon Slayer was never a good thing, but two was disastrous.

"I haven't figured that out yet!" Realizing the two might come to blows soon, Rouge stood between the two.

"I think we need help. Obviously standing here arguing and yelling at each other isn't going to bring us any closer to finding the girls. I know you didn't want to tell the guild before Sting, and it made sense at the time, but I think now they need to know. Yukino AND Lucy are missing. We know they've been taken, that's a direct attack on Sabertooth and Fairy Tail."

"Frosch agrees!" Rouge smiled down at his friend, a twinge of guilt flashing through him when he remembered once more why it was that Lucy was missing as well now.

"Rouge, I'm not going back to the guild while Yukino's out there being tortured or hurt or…" Sting's face crumbled once more and he buried his head in his hands.

"They're alive. We'd know if they'd been killed." Natsu grunted, his eyes locked on the Light Dragon Slayer. "But I'm with Sting. There's no way I'm going back to the guild when Lucy's missing. The only reason I'm still standing around now is because we have no fucking idea where to look."

"The fact still remains that we need help." Rouge pointed out once more, addressing Natsu instead.

"Fine. Then you can go inform your guild that Yukino's gone, and Happy can tell Fairy Tail."

"No way!" Both slayers turned to the blue cat, who's eyes were filled with tears, but was standing strong nevertheless. "I'm not leaving you while Lucy's gone! She's my friend too Natsu!"

The pinkette sighed and lowered himself down to his exceed's level. "Happy, I know you don't want to do this, but Fairy Tail can help. Maybe Levy or Master or someone will have an idea where to look. It's important that they know, but it's also important that we keep looking."

"But why do I have to go?!"

Natsu smiled sightly at the question. "Because you have wings Happy! You can fly a thousand times faster than any of us could run back to the guild!"

Pouting still, Happy nodded, "I guess that makes sense…I'll go now," and promptly flew off.

"I suppose that means I should be the one to return to our guild as well?" Rouge inquired, addressing Sting once more.

Lifting his head to inspect the Shadow Dragon Slayer, Sting nodded slowly. "I can't leave any more than Natsu can. Take Lector with you…"

"Sting-kun!" Lector interrupted, turning to his owner, betrayed.

Like Natsu, Sting addressed his exceed immediately. "I can't be worrying about both you and Yukino. I need to be focused and knowing you're safe at the guild will let me do that. It's important." Lector didn't seem any happier about the idea than Happy had been, but he too agreed nonetheless.

"What do you want me to tell them?" Sting considered Rouge's question carefully. He kept forgetting that he was no longer simply a member of Sabertooth, but the guild master.

"The truth. That Yukino's missing, along with Lucy of Fairy Tail, and we need their help finding them. Tell them they should pool resources with Fairy Tail. Move together as one guild for the time being."

Rouge raised an eyebrow, things had changed significantly between the two guilds, but he wondered how well working together as one would work realistically. "As you wish Master." The teasing jab brought Sting back to his normal self a little bit and he laughed weakly.

"Always the jokester." Without anymore of a goodbye, Rouge and the two exceeds turned away from Sting and Natsu and began their long trek home.

* * *

"So what exactly are we going to do in the meantime?" It wasn't long after the rest of their party left, that Sting posed the question to Natsu.

"I'm not really sure, but I sort of have an idea…I just don't know how it would work."

"Well what is it?"

Natsu turned and surveyed the area around them. "I don't know how Yukino's contracts are set up, but Lucy's spirits usually know when she's in trouble. A few can even come out of their own will, so why didn't they? Both Loke and Virgo always come to Lucy's rescue when she's in danger, but I don't see any sign of either of them. Which is odd."

Sting followed Natsu's gaze and frowned. He'd never seen them in action before, but he didn't doubt that Lucy had sprits powerful enough to come through their own gate. He wasn't as sure about Yukino's spirits as Natsu was about Lucy's however. He'd never seen her not summon them, so he assumed the situation was not the same. "I don't think the same's true for Yukino, but I honestly don't really know."

Natsu nodded, but his mind seemed to be focused elsewhere. "Virgo and Loke might be able to tell us where Lucy and Yukino are. The only problem is we have no way to summon them, unless they come here by themselves."

"We could find another Celestial Mage…" Sting tried, but Natsu shook his head.

"Between Yukino and Lucy all 12 keys of the Zodiac are claimed. I haven't even heard of there being another Celestial Mage."

"What about a minor key holder? There should be plenty of people with one of those. If we get them to summon their spirit than maybe we can get a message to one of them."

A dangerous grin spread across Natsu's face as Sting's words sunk in. "Or we can go talk to them ourselves."

"And how would we do that? It's not like humans can travel into the Celestial Spirit World!" Sting tried to argue, but Natsu only laughed.

"I've been there three times." The blonde's jaw dropped and he stared at his idol in horror. Now that they were friends, Sting occasionally forgot how insane and scary The Great Salamander really was, but was reminded quickly whenever he spent more than a few minutes with the boy. Natsu's experiences and adventures never failed to be slightly insane.

"Three…three times?!"

The pinkette nodded and chuckled, "and I know how we're going to get to the Celestial Spirit World too."

* * *

"That'll be 20,000 Jewels." Sting frowned at the price as Natsu traded the money for the small box before high tailing it out if the shop. Following behind at a slower pace, Sting wondered what had excited the pinkette so much.

It wasn't until they were a few blocks away that Natsu stopped and rounded to face the blonde, grasping a silver key triumphantly, the box discarded behind him. "Behold our ticket to the Celestial World, and the idiot sold it to us at such a cheap price!" Natsu cackled excitedly, but Sting simply raised an eyebrow. Technically the key should have only been 10,000 Jewels, but Natsu had insisted on trying one of Lucy's bargaining techniques. Needless to say, the shop owner had been less than impressed with his attempts to flirt the price down. He considered pointing that out, but thought better of it.

"How exactly is this going to help us?" Sting asked Natsu instead, as the two stared down at the small silver key clasped in his hands.

Natsu scratched his head and shrugged. "We summon him, and get him to take us back to his world." Resisting a sigh of exasperation, Sting struggled to rein in his frustration.

"And how are we going to summon it?"

Natsu opened his mouth, once, twice, before he frowned coming to the same conclusion Sting had the moment they'd purchased the key: neither of them had a clue how to summon a celestial spirit. "Shit."

* * *

"Get up." Yukino yelped as a harsh kick delivered to her side woke her up. Scrambling upright, she struggled to focus on what was happening. The man with the cloak was back, but this time his hood was down and for the first time, she could see his face.

In her mind, Yukino had been picturing him as distorted; his face twisted from whatever evil he'd let himself succumb to, but that wasn't the case. In fact, in other circumstances, she might have described him as beautiful. His hair was wavy and dark, framing a strong jaw and sharp cheek bones. Startling grey eyes met hers, and for a moment Yukino felt her heart freeze. There was the evil she had expected. His eyes were completely dead of any emotion. The last time she had looked into eyes so emotionless had been the same time she'd been forced to strip in front of her entire guild. And compared to this bastard, her old guild master was like a pixie.

Tearing her gaze away from his eyes and the horrible memory, Yukino glanced around for a familiar blonde head. "Where's Lucy?" She asked, her eyes immediately flashing back to his face, her jaw set while her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

"Otherwise occupied." It was at that exact moment that a scream tore through the air, shaking Yukino down to her very bones. She'd only heard that scream once before, and it had been in the Grand Magic Games during the water dome contest.

"What are you doing to her?!"

The man chuckled once before gesturing towards the now open jail door. "Come see, my dear."

Despite her better judgement, Yukino knew that she couldn't cower down in the cell while Lucy was in pain. She had to see if she could help her friend. So without so much as a moment of hesitation, she stalked forward and out the door, following Lucy's cries.

It wasn't a very long before Yukino emerged into a large circular room. Like the cellar, the walls were made of stone and devoid of any windows. Only two doors lead into the room, the one she had just exited and another just like it directly across from where she was standing. In the direct center of the room was Lucy, strapped onto a high metal table.

Her cries had stopped a few minutes ago, but her body was still thrashing wildly, pulling on the thick leather straps that held in her place. Even from the ten feet or so she stood away from the blonde, Yukino could see the whites of her eyes and realized that the other girl must have passed out from whatever pain she was being subjected to.

Yukino was about to take another step forward, when she found her way blocked by the cloaked man. "Close enough my dear."

Frowning, the celestial mage shot another glance at Lucy, who's movements were beginning to lessen. "What are you doing to her?"

He smiled. "I'm so glad you asked. Do you see the two tubes I have placed in her chest?" Looking again, Yukino immediately spotted what he was referring to. Two small tubes were buried in the middle of Lucy's chest and led away to two large glass tubes. One was relatively empty, but was gradually filling with a golden liquid that was being pumped from the blonde girl. The other tube, the one pumping into the blonde, was filled with a deep ebony fluid that clung to the sides of the glass as if it was made of tar. "Our lovely Lucy is being pumped of her celestial magic and is being filled instead with a special mixture, one of my own invention."

Horrified, Yukino's eyes snapped back to his face for a moment, before returning to her friend. In that brief moment, he had flashed her the most twisted smile she'd ever seen, and suddenly she was afraid she was going to be sick. Looking at Lucy was not helping the feeling either. The blonde's entire body was pale white and slick with sweat, a stark contrast to her normally bright and perfect skin.

"What is it?" She demanded, unable to tear her eyes away.

"Magic, mostly." His voice was laced with so much enjoyment as he spoke that Yukino almost gagged. He was sick, beyond sick, insane really. "With an added ingredient." He paused as if waiting for her to question what it was, but the white haired mage refused. Something inside of her was screaming that she didn't want to know. That the knowledge would be too much, but the pause did not last nearly long enough. "Demonic energy. That's what's making her scream, not the magic being drained from her body, but the stuff that's replacing it. The others have described it as burning; as if fire is being pumped into your veins and burning you alive from the inside out. It's quite fascinating."

"Others?"

"Past experiments. Failed ones I suppose you could say." She was going to be sick. He'd done this before. They were like guinea pigs to him; nothing more that empty body's to test. "I have faith that the two of you will be my breakthrough however. The others were weak, not like you or Lucy."

"Me?" He chuckled at the waver of fear in her voice.

"Oh yes, once she's finished with her dose, it'll be your turn my dear."

* * *

Lucy huddled in the corner of the cell, shivering as Yukino's screams danced off the walls around her. She was cold, so cold. Earlier it had felt as if her blood was boiling, but now it felt like her entire body was freezing from the inside out. Their capture had thrown her carelessly into the cell and had disappeared back upstairs before she could even attempt to make a request. He'd been too angry at her.

Another spasm of pain shot through the Celestial Mage followed by a new wave of shivering. Biting her lip to hold back the bile rising in her throat, Lucy screwed her eyes shut and attempted to picture something to take away the horrible memories. Natsu. Natsu could always take away the darkest parts of her. At the very least he'd burn the man to a crisp before he could ever touch her again. Another shiver went through her at the thought.

The minute she'd woken up, Lucy had found her hands and legs to be free, while the strange man leaned over her, observing silently. Seeing she was awake, he'd stroked a hand from her forehead down to her neck. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, and from anyone else it would have been, but the moment his hand had touched her, Lucy had leaned over and vomited. She'd always hated getting sick, but this was a whole new level of horrible. Because the sickly liquid expelling from her body was not the typical yellow, but a pitch black oozing mass. Before her mind could even begin to register what that meant, the man had started screaming. Without any warning he'd yanked her off the table by her hair and forced her across the room and down the steps leading back to the cell, before throwing her harshly through the door.

Yes, Natsu would definitely burn the man to a crisp.

Yukino's screams suddenly cut off. Shaking, Lucy made to get up, but thought better of it and instead crawled over to the bars, sticking her head as far through as possible in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the stairs and the room beyond them. Of course, the entire thing was pointless, and Lucy was left shivering against the cold metal, waiting for her friend to join her once again.

* * *

"So what's you're brilliant plan now, Salamander?" Natsu frowned at Sting's question. He really had thought buying the silver key would be the answer to everything. He'd seen Lucy summon her spirits for years, and had never bothered to figure out how she'd done it.

Raking his brains for another brilliant idea, Natsu came up with the image of a fairly pretty, if not slightly annoying, green-haired girl. "Princess Hisui!"

"As in the princess of Fiore?" Natsu nodded, his pink hair falling forward an into his eyes slightly. "How is that going to help us?"

Natsu grinned. "She's a Celestial Mage like Yukino and Lucy."

"I know I'm going to regret this, but what makes you think she'll be willing to help us?" Sting studied the other boy carefully, wondering what it was about Salamander that was so unbeatable. No matter the odds, he always managed to find a solution. Usually with his fists, but it seemed whenever it came to his blonde partner, his head tended to come into the equation a bit more.

"We're friends." He said the words so simply, and with such a blasé attitude, that Sting almost didn't second guess the statement. As if it was so common for minor mages from rowdy guilds, like Fairy Tail, to be friends with the Princess of Fiore. Then again it probably wasn't very common for girls like Lucy Heartfilia, rich and pampered their entire lives, to join them either.

"How the hell did that happen?" Natsu smirked, flipping the hair from his eyes.

"She was so impressed with us after the GMG, that the next time she needed help she came and found us. We actually just finished with that." The smirk dipped from his face and instead was replaced with a frown. "You don't think the issue with the Zodiacs have anything to do with this do you?"

Sting stared at the pink-haired boy, wondering the same thing. It seemed that neither Lucy or Yukino had been able to successfully use their keys to fight off whoever had taken them ,but Yukino had said everything was fine when she'd returned. "I don't know, but I hope not."

* * *

**_A/N: I have no excuse for the amount of time its been since I've last updated other than I suck. Feel free to express your annoyance with me :( I apologize to everyone I've made wait for this fourth chapter, I will try to be better I promise...take that with a grain of salt though I guess. Enjoy and review if you're not too annoyed/mad/frustrated with me. Thanks to everyone who's waited and stuck with this story you guys are the true MVPs._**


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